


love you now a little more tomorrow

by flow3rs



Series: intentions [10]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: College, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Frat Boy EJ, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Phone Sex, Post-Graduation, Vibrators, ricky bowen is a slut for megan thee stallion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:35:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24659218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flow3rs/pseuds/flow3rs
Summary: ej really wished they showed how hard it was to transition from high school to college in movies because no one could have prepared him for what he was experiencing.oradjusting to college is hard for ej, especially when the boy he's in love with is 10 hours away from him.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell
Series: intentions [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685080
Comments: 17
Kudos: 99





	1. you make it easy to choose

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO!! WOWOWOW we are finally here folks :') unfortunately this time im not pranking yall and this rly is the last installment for this series 😔 ...unless? 😳 nah jk but this is definitely it as of rn! there is not enough ej centric fics so um i said ej rights 😌 
> 
> as u can see dis shit long af :0 and i apologize for making yall wait so long so i decided to upload the first part since im still in the middle of writing the second part but yall have been so patient so im giving yall a treat 😌 
> 
> i hope yall have been keeping up with the world and doing ur part to help the revolution ✨🤩🧚🏻♂️ sign petitions, donate if u can, and use ur voice! 
> 
> i hope you all enjoy this last part, and i thank those who have been here since the beginning, those who just hopped on the train, and those who will be reading this in the future. yall r sexy af

ej placed one last finishing touch to his room, taping a polaroid of him kissing ricky on the cheek as the younger boy smiled wide, eyes crinkled, to a space on his wall.

satisfied, he looked around, taking in the newly decorated dorm around him. he honestly couldn’t believe he had made it this far; graduating high school, moving to california, living his dream...it was all so surreal.

it almost diminished how upset he was that his parents didn’t even come to help him move in, saying something about a “last minute” business meeting in tokyo that was “really important to the company.” but thankfully his lord and savior mike bowen had been willing to drive the _ten hours_ to los angeles (with ricky, ashlyn, and miss jenn in tow) to help ej move in and send him off.

he was lucky to have people like them in his life.

they had all worked to get his room in order; ashlyn putting up decorations and making sure everything looked aesthetically pleasing ( _“if all of your bed sheets are grey, white, and blue why would you use a green pillowcase?? make it make sense!”_ ), miss jenn cleaning every inch of the dorm ( _“who knows the last time this room was cleaned! do you know how many people have lived here?? too many!”)_ , mike carrying all of the heavy boxes from the car ( _“jesus christ, my back is starting to ache.”_ ), and ricky standing around watching everyone else work ( _“i think that frame is a little crooked, ashl--i’ll shut up now.”_ )

ashlyn had insisted that his room have a cohesive theme, so when ej’s parents left them with a credit card and told them to go ham dorm shopping, they took full advantage of ikea and homegoods. ej decided he wanted to keep his room pretty simple, opting for whites and greys with accents of dark red and navy. they bought led lights that mr. bowen was attaching to the wall while standing on a wobbly desk, fake cactuses and succulents to place on his bedside table, and got dozens of pictures of ej’s favorite moments printed out to put on his wall (most of those pictures being of him and ricky, or-- just ricky).

in the few hours they all had been setting up the dorm they made good progress: the grey rug laid out in the middle of the room, all of his clothes hung up or folded neatly into his closet, bed pushed against the wall next to the window so that he could wake up with a view of the california sunrise.

ej was lucky, he was able to snag a four-person suite in the honors residence hall that had single rooms, meaning he didn’t have to have a roommate living in the same bedroom as him. _thank god_ , he thought to himself, because he didn’t think he was ready to give up his rich-kid privilege of having a giant room to himself just yet. his dorm was significantly smaller than his bedroom and he had never slept on a mattress smaller than a king size in his _life_ , but he guessed college came with sacrifices.

he wasn’t _particularly_ excited to be living with three other _heterosexual as fuck_ division one water polo players, but they had all met up over the summer to get to know each other before school started and none of them really seemed to be bothered by him liking boys, nor did they seem like creepy weirdos that didn’t know how to flush the toilet after they took a shit, so, he guessed having roommates wouldn’t be too bad.

unfortunately, mr. bowen had to be back at work the next night, meaning that if the rest of them wanted to make it back to salt lake city before then (with time to spare so that mike could take a well deserved nap), the group would have to go back home as soon as they finished with ej’s dorm.

when night came and the group finally set the room up to their liking, ej pushed his phone into ricky’s hand, forcing the younger boy to take pictures of him so that he could post them to his feed tomorrow. he knew his 40 thousand followers would want to see how he styled his dorm. 

being the good boyfriend ricky was, the younger boy bent down low to get ej’s good angles (all of his angles were good angles), standing up on the desk, laying down on the floor, going wherever ej directed. ( _“no, no, no, you have to get low but then point the camera upwards so it makes me look taller.”_ ) _(“you’re already tall!”)_

ej had noticed that when he posted pictures with ricky he usually had more engagement; getting more likes and comments (many of them either saying things along the lines of “omg you guys are so cute together😍” or “ugh why are all the hot one’s gay😔😩”). so ej had made a point to post more with his boyfriend. once he was satisfied with the range of photos ricky had taken of him, he handed his phone to ashlyn, now forcing his cousin to take pictures of him and ricky.

he pulled ricky by the wrist to sit next to him on his bed, the younger boy resting his head on ej’s shoulder as they smiled for the picture. when the flash went off, ricky moved to get off of the bed before ej stopped him, looking him dead in the eye, “don’t you know by now that pictures with me are not a one and done type deal? i need _options_. sit back down and look like you love me!”

ricky groaned, rolling his eyes and pulling an over dramatic look of affection towards the older boy as the camera went off. they changed their pose after every flash; ej kissing ricky’s cheek, ricky kissing ej’s cheek, faking laughter, throwing up peace signs. taking one final pose ej held ricky’s face in his hands, kissing him softly on the lips as they both smiled.

ricky complained, “god, sometimes i think you just date me for the clout,” but he was smiling.

ricky jumped off the bed as the adults stepped into the doorway, mike announcing, “alright gang, we gotta head out soon, let’s get all these pictures done so we can get going!”

the group took some selfies, with one of ej’s roommates being nice enough to take a picture of all of them together, smiling and making silly faces. ashlyn had her own quick photoshoot with her cousin, wanting to remember the special occasion.

“god, the house is going to be so empty without you,” ashlyn lamented, hugging ej tightly as the group stood outside of the residence hall, the sun lowering in the sky as they all got ready to say their goodbyes. “i’m gonna miss you so much, but i know you’re going to do amazing things. i love you, idiot.”

he held his cousin closer, willing himself not to cry as he squeezed her until she hit him, complaining that she could no longer breathe. miss jenn and mr. bowen said their goodbyes next, wishing him luck as ej thanked them for all of their help, expressing his gratitude for always being there for him.

finally, it was ricky’s turn to bid the older boy adieu, everyone looking at him expectantly. he looked around awkwardly, not moving from his spot before blurting, “bye, i guess.”

the group let out collective groans, rolling their eyes at ricky’s inability to express human emotion.

“we’ll just go wait in the car and leave you to it,” mr. bowen said exasperated.

finally left alone, the pair walked up to each other, the dread of leaving finally setting in. ej stood with his hands in his pockets; he wasn’t ready for them to say goodbye because that made it all real: that he didn’t know the next time he would see ricky, that ricky might forget about him, that they might break up because of the distance. ej had faith in their relationship, but the fear still swam through his brain mercilessly.

ricky whispered, sullen, “i don’t wanna say goodbye.”

“then we won’t. i’ll see you later, okay?” ej comforted, finally pulling the younger boy to his chest and wrapping his arms around his small shoulders as ricky brought his arms around ej’s waist.

“fuck, i’m crying, _fuck._ i hate this, oh my god. i’m literally hugging you and you already feel so far away!” the curly haired boy burrowed his face deeper into ej’s neck, squeezing his arms around him tighter, as if that would keep the older boy from leaving him. it took all of his self-control to keep the tears welling in his eyes from falling.

ej sniffled, cringing as his own eyes began to grow wet. he willed himself not to cry as he pulled away to look at his boyfriend, “text me everyday, okay? tell me all the stupid shit that happens at east high. tell me which freshman says _macbeth_ in the theater. tell me when you have a math test or when you eat a poptart or when you’re about to take shower. i don’t care, just tell me _everything_ , okay? even if i’m not there physically, i’ll always be there for you, alright? i love you so much.”

ricky’s resolve finally crumbled, small tears flowing from eyes as ej pulled him in for a passionate kiss, knowing it would be their last one for a while.

ricky pushed on ej’s chest, forcing them to separate, “okay, that’s enough or i’m just gonna keep crying.” he blinked away the tears, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffling.

laughing, ej pulled him in for one last tight hug before lighting up, “oh! i almost forgot, i have something for you.”

“i really don’t know if i can handle your love in gift form right now.”

“don’t worry it’s nothing too special,” the new college freshman placated, pulling out a small box covered in wrapping paper and placing it in ricky’s hands.

just then, mr. bowen pulled up next to them in the car, signalling that it was really time for them to get going.

“don’t open it until you get home, okay?” ej urged as ricky looked at him with glassy eyes.

the younger boy laid one final kiss to ej’s lips before quickly running to the car. he looked back one final time, the gift held under his arm as his fingers played with the turtle necklace around his neck. looking ej in the eyes as the sun set on the horizon, ricky mouthed _i love you_ , before opening the door of the car and getting inside. (ricky was still reluctant to say those three little words out loud, so that made it extra special when he did say it.)

the group drove away slowly, waving through the windows and yelling goodbyes as they faded away, further and further until ej couldn’t see them anymore. when the car was finally out of his sight, ej sighed, walking dejectedly back inside to his dorm where he now lay, looking at the polaroid of him and ricky on his wall.

it was late at night now, ej getting ready for bed on his first night of being a real college student. he wasn’t sure what this school year would have in store, but he hoped he would be able to get through it without ricky by his side.

ej woke up the next morning to a text message from his boyfriend.

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!!!!_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _sent an attachment._

he snickered to himself smugly, amused at his ricky’s reaction to his gift ( _fully knowing_ that this would be the way the younger boy would react).

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘:** _figured you could use it since im not gonna be around_

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘:** _:-)_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _I HATE YOU WTF_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM GOING TO USE THIS_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _!!!_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _I AM NOT GOING TO USE A SPARKLY PURPLE VIBRATOR JUST BECAUSE UR GONE omfg im gonna scream_

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _your loss._

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _have fun with your right hand then baby_ 😴

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _IMAGINE IF I DIDNT LISTEN TO U AND I OPENED THIS IN FRONT OF EVERYONE OH MY GOD I CANT_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _I HATE U IM GLAD UR GONE_

**_litleo_** **🥺❣️** ** _:_** _...im kidding i love yOu please come back so i doNT HAVE TO FUCKING USE THIS ugh you infuriate me i miSS YOU_

*****

~⚠️flashback alert⚠️~

“i know you’re probably all going to hate me for saying this, but in the end we all know it’s true. the only way we got through these last four year is because we were all in it together.”

a collective groan sounded through the crowd as ej concluded his speech.

“... _anyway_. we were all in it together and we, as the newest graduates of east high, will always be in it together. i’m so privileged to have gone to such an amazing school and to have been able to meet so many wonderful people. congrats to the class of 2020!”

the large crowd roared in applause as ej finished, taking his seat with the other graduates as sabrina sullivan, the valedictorian began her speech. his jaw clenched as she spoke, still a little annoyed that her gpa was higher than his by .01 point. he didn’t even know this girl existed until they announced over the loudspeaker that she got valedictorian instead of him, but _whatever_. he guessed salutatorian was enough for now.

people always assumed that because ej was a jock he was also an idiot and _yes,_ maybe sometimes he was too self absorbed to pick up on certain social cues but it always came as a shock to people when they found out how intelligent he really was. ej ended his year with straight As and a 4.56 gpa, was the vp of the senior class, president of the national honor society, and member of two other honor societies. _besides_ being captain of the water polo team and leading in almost all of the school’s musicals, of course. 

he figured if he was going to look perfect all the time, he might as well _be_ perfect too.

ej tried listening to what sabanana was droning on about but everything she was saying was going in one ear and out the other, as she encouraged the east high graduates to be _forces of change_ and how they all had the _times of their lives_ or something like that. ej was too busy looking for ricky in the audience to really pay attention to what sbarro or whoever she was was saying.

snabberdash only took a few millennia to finish her speech, and by then the june sun was at its peak beating down on the students of east high, their graduation being held on the football field. ej was growing impatient as he began to feel a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and he was _not_ going to be happy if his perfectly styled hair got ruined because the no-name girl who stole his chance at valedictorian wasted everyone’s time by telling them to _live, laugh & love <3 _.

the names of the students were finally being called to receive their diplomas and ej waited patiently until his section of the alphabet was told to stand up and get in line. he adjusted the red cap upon his head, smoothing down the polyester gown. he stood by as the principal called _isabel anne cabrera, henry james calder, phoebe ava campbell, thomas beck carbonaro..._

fixing the many chords, medals, and stoles around his neck he almost missed what the principal had said into the mic, his eyes widening in horror and his heart stopping.

“ _etienne jeanmichael caswell_!”

he stood next to the stange frozen before the girl behind him kicked the back of his shoe impatiently, prompting him to quickly walk onto the stage.

“etienne will be majoring in acting at the university of southern california as well as earning a full-ride scholarship to play division one water polo at the school!” 

he shook the teacher’s hand as the man looked at him with pride while handing him the diploma. the pair smiled for the professional photographer taking pictures in front of the stage and as ej turned to face his fellow classmates he was met with a mix of extremely confused faces, jaws agape in shock, and people covering their mouths as they giggled.

_of course they had to fuck up on my LAST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL,_ ej thought to himself bitterly, hurriedly walking off the stage and heading back to his seat as he avoided all the eyes following him.

he slumped in his seat as the ceremony dragged on, ej bored now that his part was already over. the faculty finally finished calling all of the names what felt like years later as they excitedly announced that the graduates could finally turn their tassels, the field buzzing with excitement as the principal called from the podium, “CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EAST HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 2020!”

the football field erupted in cheers and resounding applause, the air being filled with scarlet graduation caps as the students flung them into the air in celebration.

everyone dispersed to find their families and friends, taking pictures and hugging their loved ones. ej first found the other seniors on the water polo team, taking some quick flicks and congratulating them. after, a few girls asked to take pictures with him, he didn’t really know all of their names but he knew them from some of his classes. he put on his brightest smile for each photo as the girls waited in a line, a new girl under his arm after every flash of the camera went off.

_do they know i have a boyfriend?_ he thought to himself, as a fifth girl with blonde hair came up beside him to take a photo. ej was about to grin wide again for the camera until he looked down and saw _sabrina the valedictorian stealing bitch_ smiling for the picture next to him. quickly, he retracted his arm from around her, mumbling out a ‘oops, sorry my family wants to take pictures!’ as he spotted his parents, cousin, and ricky waving him over from across the football field and ran towards them.

he scooped ricky up in a tight hug as he reached them, spinning the younger boy around in his arms before putting him down and complaining, “did you see that?! i cannot believe that title-stealing hoe just tried to take a picture with me! the _audacity._ ”

“don’t call her a hoe just because she’s smarter than you!” ashlyn chided, hitting him in the arm with the ceremony program.

“chill!” ej defended, rubbing his arm, “i was just kidding!”

“ok, _etienne_ ,” ashlyn jested, knowing that mentioning his name would strike a chord with her cousin.

his eyes flared in anger, about to retort before his parents interrupted, “oh ej, we are so proud of you!” his mother bubbled, grabbing him by the cheeks and planting kiss after kiss on his face. 

a blush spread across his face as ashlyn and ricky snickered at his embarrassment. his father gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder when his mother finally released him, praising, “good job, etienne, you’ve done good.”

ej smiled, not used to his dad genuinely being happy for him. 

“there’s still time to change your major to something more realistic though…”

and his smile dropped, disappointed but not surprised at his father’s words.

being the amazing cousin ashlyn was, she saved them by changing the subject, “how ‘bout we take some pictures!”

everyone agreed cheerfully, ricky offering to take pictures of the family together as they smiled wide. a few pictures in, the rest of the theatre gang found them, cheering excitedly as they expressed their congratulations to ej. the kids took turns hugging the graduate, his parents pushing them all in for a group picture. they beamed cheerfully holding the signs they had made for him, big red waving the giant poster of ej’s face they had printed out and doing a classic high school musical jump pose as the camera snapped more photos.

the football field had begun to clear out as students and their families finished their photoshoots, ej’s parents animatedly announcing that everyone was welcome to come over to the caswell residence for a small graduation party. the theatre kids all agreed gleefully, following the adults to the parking lot of the school. 

ricky and ej hovered behind the large group, the older boy grabbing ricky’s hand and intertwining their fingers, letting their arms swing as they walked.

“how does it feel to be a high school graduate?” ricky asks, smiling up at his boyfriend fondly.

“the same, except now i’m one step closer to being 10 hours away from you,” ej lamented, pulling ricky into his side and wrapping an arm around his back as they continued walking.

the younger boy hugged ej’s middle back tightly, but stayed silent as they reached the car, his lips pursed as he suppressed his feelings about ej going to college so far away.

the older boy knew that ricky wasn’t particularly happy with where he chose to go to school, but he also knew well enough that ricky would never want to hold him back from following his dreams. he just wished ricky would tell him what was going through his mind, instead of holding his tongue, but he figured it would be a conversation for another day. ej sighed as they got inside of the car with his parents and ashlyn and drove home to celebrate his graduation.

~⚠️flashback ending alert⚠️~

*****

ej really wished they showed how hard it was to transition from high school to college in movies because _no one_ could have prepared him for what he was experiencing.

he had to wake up at four-thirty a.m. everyday to make it to five a.m. water polo workouts and practices, those lasting two hours. then he had thirty minutes to shower and make himself presentable for his first class at eight a.m. which just happened to be held in the technical theatre laboratory on campus, which _just happened_ to be a fifteen minute walk away from his dorm. 

which meant he had about two minutes to get all his shit for the rest of the day packed into his backpack, two minutes to heat up a breakfast sandwich, and one minute to regret taking a bite out of the sandwich immediately after taking it out of the microwave before he had to run out of his building and sprint to his first class.

the rest of his day was packed with back to back class until four p.m. with only a forty-five minute break in between his intro to acting class and his american literature class to grab lunch from either the dining hall or a food truck on campus.

after his classes, he would spend the last few hours of his day either in the library or with his other roommates in their common room getting homework done. his suitemates were cool and he was thankful that they all had to suffer through the same early start to their day albeit being different majors.

connor, who lived in the suite next to him, came from maryland and majored in music industry, so it was nice not being the only d1 athlete that was on a more artistic career path. his other roommate, isaac, was a biochem major from colorado and they happened to be in the same english class, so it was convenient to do work together. lastly, there was tommy, an accounting major from westchester, new york who was probably ej’s least favorite of the three. you’d think two rich kids with powerful parents would get along perfectly but evidently enough, ej and tommy were _very_ different and often got under each other’s skin over small things.

however, besides that, he was glad he and his roommates could slip in a short call of duty or 2k match in between the hours of homework they all had to endure during the week or else he would probably go insane. they were also fortunate that usc was only minutes away from multiple beaches, their favorite being manhattan beach, where they could go on their off days: lounging on the sand while finishing homework, isaac teaching them all how to surf, and basking in the california sun after a long practice.

and if there’s one thing that really helped him get through his first few weeks of college, it was ricky’s guaranteed facetime at the end of a long day. ej always felt comforted as his boyfriend’s face appeared on his screen, ricky now a senior and recounting his own stressful school day when they caught each other up at night. even on the days when ej would be too burnt out to say much, he loved simply watching ricky blabber on about how much the new freshman in the drama department annoyed him, hearing him jokingly (but lowkey seriously) complain about how he had to drive himself to school now instead of being picked up by ej’s mercedes, and seeing his hands flying animatedly throughout the screen as he spoke with them for emphasis.

even when they only talked for a few minutes to say their goodnites or share how much they missed each other, ej would forget about his busy schedule, perfectly distracted and reassured simply by seeing the younger boy’s face on his screen. 

he just wished ricky wasn’t so far away.

*****

september rolled around pretty quickly and ej was finally beginning to feel like he had a grip on reality after the long weeks of adjusting to college life.

he had made a few new friends in his major through his classes: a bubbly girl named gigi who constantly babbled about the cows (or lack thereof) in california compared to her home state of texas, katya, a california native and raging lesbian who never let ej forget it (she insisted he flirted with her the first time they met, despite his many arguments that he was _dating_ a _boy_ ), and jonah, a quiet boy with glasses from seattle who absolutely _murdered_ everyone during their first acting class’ improv icebreaker game (the quietest ones were always the funniest).

their friend group made absolutely no sense, gigi being an optimistic bottle blonde with a southern accent, katya in all her black excellence, nose piercings, and graphic eyeliner, and jonah with his timothee-chalamet-white-boy-of-the-month-esque features. and of course, there was ej who felt like he stood out from them the most: clean cut, preppy white boy with absent parents and a superiority complex.

their quirkiness and differences reminded him of the rag-tag group of theatre kids back at east high, which is why he was drawn to them and it was a unique change from the straight-boyness that sometimes overwhelmed his dorm.

however, besides his roommates and his new theatre friends, ej hadn’t really made many other connections at the school. the idea of joining a fraternity had always swum around his brain, his father being a founding member of the fraternity he was in when he was in college. it had always seemed like the type of scene he would join when he got to university, but he’d changed a lot in the last year and wasn’t sure if he would fit in with classic button down, boat shoe boys anymore.

“should i rush?” ej wondered out loud, taking a bite out of his sandwich, his bizarre theatre friend group sitting beside him in the dining hall.

“where ya gotta be so fast?” gigi questioned curiously.

“he means rush a _fraternity,_ gigi, not rush to _be somewhere_ ,” jonah explained patiently, not looking up from the book he was reading.

the blonde blushed, “oooh. well, sure! why not open up to new experiences on campus?”

“yeah, sure, open your asshole to a bunch of guys who are probably going to assault you as a form of hazing!” katya argued, stuffing vegan sushi into her mouth angrily.

“i meannnn, that’s not _guaranteed_ to happen. i might not even get a bid!” ej defended, dipping a fry in some ketchup.

katya piped up from her place at the table, wildly waving around her chopsticks. “you’re obviously going to get a bid, ej. i mean, look at you! you’re the classic straight white boy. you’re a d1 athlete, you’ve got rich parents, and you have absolutely no sense of style. what more could they want?”

“i thought you were gay?” jonah questioned, taking a sip of tea.

“how rich are your parents?” gigi blurted.

“ok, _first of all_ ,” ej began, his nose in the air, “i am _bisexual_ , i have a _boyfriend_. and the way you constantly ignore that part of me, katya, i believe, is terribly biphobic.”

the girl scoffed, affronted, “it’s not my fault you look like a straight man on the outside! you don’t cuff your jeans, what am i supposed to think?!”

the pair bickered for a few more minutes before finishing their meals as their next class quickly approached. as the group went their separate ways, ej thought about what katya said to him.

would it be an issue if the frat boys knew he was into other guys? would it ruin his chances of getting accepted? he hadn’t ever really thought about something like that, so used to having things handed to him. but his parents weren’t here to baby him anymore, so he’d just have to find out when rush week came along.

*****

“what’d you say your name was again?” the blonde boy with a blinding white smile, asked.

“ej. ej caswell,” he replied confidently, giving the other boy a firm handshake and flashing him a smile.

ej would be lying if he said he wasn’t completely and utterly _in his element_. if he knew rushing a fraternity just meant flexing all of his accomplishments and using his irresistible charm to seduce people, he would’ve done it without a second thought.

he had dressed in (what he thought) ((katya would disagree)) were his most stylish clothes: a navy blazer over a light blue button down sans the top three buttons paired with tapered khakis, brown dress shoes, and tied together with an expensive brown leather belt his father had bought him.

if you had asked him, ej would say he was the best looking person there. (despite katya laughing at him when she caught a glimpse of his outfit as he left his dorm. _“if you don’t cuff those damn jeans and show some ankle, i swear!”_ )

he didn’t end up following the girl’s advice but he didn’t really think it mattered much, so far he and the other pledges had visited most of the frats on campus and it seemed that _all_ of them wanted ej as soon as he said his last name. maybe his parents could be good for something after all.

“caswell?!” the frat boy exclaimed with wide eyes. “like _the_ caswell business moguls?”

“the one and only,” ej smirked, nonchalant.

the boy let out a breath in awe, “wow. i look up to your parents a lot! they definitely inspired me to pursue a business degree.”

“ah, i bet they wish they inspired me to get a business degree as well,” ej joked.

“oh, well what’s your major, then? and by the way i’m liam, just realized i never even said my name!”

he hesitated, “um. i’m actually an acting major.”

liam looked surprised but not unnerved, “damn, never would've seen that one coming! you came to the right place, though. i hear a lot of great things about the school of dramatic arts. what do you see yourself doing with acting?”

ej didn’t miss a beat as he answered, “sitting next to timothée chalamet at the oscars and winning against him for best actor.”

“oof!” the boy said, patting him on the back good-naturedly. “confident! we love to see it. lambda chi could definitely use a brother like you. you seem like you could bring something new to the table and honestly,” he leaned in closer to ej so that the other boys around them wouldn’t hear, “i’m sick and tired of half these guys. they all have the same boring ass personality.”

ej laughed, “you really think i got a good shot? lambda chi was definitely high on my list. my dad was also a founder of his chapter at villanova so this is where he wants me to pledge.”

“ _and_ you’re a legacy, too? you’re, like, guaranteed a bid then, dude.”

“nice,” ej said, mostly to himself.

“definitely. lambda chi is _always_ high on everyone’s list. most people don’t get a bid because we’re so exclusive but i’ll totally put in a good word for you, bro. why don’t you follow me and i’ll introduce you to some of the other brothers and give you a tour of the house?”

ej followed liam up the stairs, beaming excitedly. _take that, katya!_ he thought to himself.

*****

“you joined a _what?!?_ ” ricky exclaimed through the screen as they facetimed.

ej’s smile faltered as he repeated, “a frat! ...is that bad?”

“i mean…” the senior cringed, trying to come with an answer and failing. “it’s not...bad? i just kind of thought you weren’t really one of those _fuckboys_ anymore.”

ej frowned. “they’re actually not all bad! most of them are really nice and chill and i didn’t even get hazed,” he paused. “well, the brothers did make me chug two bottles of wine in one minute but honestly that’s light work...and yeah connor, my roommate who rushed with me, did end up throwing up for, like, hours after...but it’s fine!”

ricky looked at him apprehensive, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “uh, okay...as long as you don’t turn back into sophomore year vineyard vines ej then i’m fine with dating a frat boy, i guess....”

“heyyyy, don’t bash VV when you’re literally wearing my striped hoodie right now that i...just noticed you stole from me _i have been looking for that everywhere what the fuck_.”

ricky peeped down at the sweatshirt he was wearing, smiling bashfully, “hehe. oops.”

“whatever, it looks cute on you…” ej grumbled.

the younger boy scrunched his nose into a cute smile which then turned into a wide yawn. “shit, it’s late. i should probably sleep. i’ll call you tomorrow, kay?”

“okieee,” ej pouted, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at his boyfriend on the screen. “goodnight, litleo, i miss you more everyday.”

ricky gagged but still wore a shy smile as he replied, blowing a small kiss to the camera, “night, squirtle, i love youuuuuuu.”

the boy hung up, leaving ej to stare at his reflection in the black screen in front of him. 

his frown deepened as he stared at himself, wishing for nothing more than to be sleeping in the same bed as ricky.

*****

~⚠️flashback alert⚠️~

“we are _not_ going to do the pose!”

“aww, c’mon babe it’s classic, we have to!” ej whined, trying to wrap his arms around ricky from behind as their parents snapped pictures of them.

“it’s a _straight person_ pose. we are not _straight_ ,” the younger boy, argued impatiently.

the senior deadpanned, putting his best rbf on, “so you’re saying you’d do it with nini and not me, huh? just because we’re both _guys_.”

“uGh, fine, we’ll do the _fucking_ pose!” ricky relented, exasperated as he mumbled under his breath, aggressively pulling ej’s arms around his waist. “fucking hate you sometimes i swear to god…”

the older boy’s chest pressed against his back as they arranged themselves into the cliche prom pose, smiling brightly for the many cameras snapping photographs.

ah, _prom_. the one night a year the students of east high could get fucked up at a school sanctioned event and the teachers would ignore it (unless they caught someone trying to drive home drunk, of course).

ej, for the record, had been asked to prom all four years of high school because, well, it was _him_ , so. 

but this prom was different. this one was _special_.

because he was actually going with someone he cared about.

and it was also the first time _he_ got to prom-pose rather than someone prom-posing to him. so. forgive him if he was extremely excited and wanted to do all the cheesy prom shit. (ricky thought it was extremely embarrassing, but ej _obviously_ had to sing a song for him in the middle of the cafeteria in front of the whole school to prom-pose because. well, it was ej, so, what else did he expect? the younger boy had blushed furiously when the cafeteria erupted in cheers and applause when ej had finished, and even though ej was his boyfriend, he was kind of tempted to say no just because ej was so _extra_ . but he would never admit to himself and _especially_ not to ej, that he had been waiting very (im)patiently for the older boy to ask him. so. deep down he was extremely flattered at the gesture.)

the boys stood in the caswell backyard as their parents continued taking pictures of them, taking different poses in their crisp, fitted suits. ricky had opted for a dark green tux with a slim floral tie while ej wore a khaki suit and satin green tie to match. the rustic boutonnieres pinned to the lapels of their jackets held light pink ranunculus flowers surrounded by delicate baby’s breath, wrapped in twine.

nini and ashlyn obviously styled them, both boys having absolutely no clue how to dress themselves.

( _“if you think i’m going to let you wear the same boring black tux you’ve worn to every other prom you’ve been to, then you’re not my cousin,”_ ashlyn had said.

_“no, you can’t wear vans to prom, ricky,”_ nini chided.)

prom was open to juniors, seniors, and underclassmen as long as an upperclassmen asked them as a date, so the group of theatre kids had all convened at the caswell residence to take pre-prom pictures and chipped in to ride in a limo together, because they were dramatic and extra, of course.

when the pre-festivities and photo shoots were over, the group finally hopped into the limo to head to the venue where the dance was going to be held. they passed around a small flask with whiskey that big red had snuck into his suit pocket, everyone taking a shot of the drink.

after ricky and ej took their turns taking a swig from the bottle, the senior reached into the breast pocket of his suit, pulling out two perfectly rolled joints between his fingers as he wiggled his eyebrows mischievously at his boyfriend.

a smile grew on the younger’s face as he swooned, “ugh, i am in _love_ with you.”

ej smirked, knowing the way to a skater boy’s heart: _weed_. he leaned in to place a small kiss on ricky’s lips, earning a groan from the other theatre kids.

“please leave the affection for _after_ prom, thank you!” carlos complained as he held seb’s hand in his own.

snatching one of the joints from ej’s fingers, ricky held up the small roll and declared, “he has weed!”

big red piped up from his spot next to ashlyn excitedly, “oh shit, well in that case i’m in love with you too, ej.”

with that, ej grabbed the lighter from his pocket and lit one the joints between fingers, taking a long hit. he held the smoke in his mouth and took ricky’s face between his hands to slowly blow smoke into the younger boy’s mouth as ricky inhaled, their lips brushing.

ricky smirked, lust filling his eyes as he plucked the burning joint from ej’s fingers and took a real hit, handing it off to big red as the group took turns taking hits. between the whiskey and the weed in his system, ricky knew he was about to have a _very_ fun night.

when the first roach burned out, ej lit the second and passed it around. they had to open a window in the limo as the smoke began to cloud the car, the partition between the driver and them rolled up, thankfully.

after one more hit, ricky began to feel the familiar buzz in his head, his eyelids feeling significantly heavier and his body relaxing. ej looked down at him with reddening eyes, smiling goofily as they finally reached their destination.

the group of theatre nerds entered the elegant banquet hall decorated with sparkling fairy lights, a photobooth, and intricately arranged floral centerpieces. it was all almost too much for ricky’s fried brain to handle but ej took his hand, intertwining their fingers and he felt better as they found their place cards and headed to their seats.

the night flew by; they danced for what felt like hours, took pictures in the photo booth, continued to take swigs from big red’s flask, and ej and ricky _may_ have snuck away to hook up in the limo.

ej had brought a small disposable camera with him to capture moments of the prom, wanting to take a stab at being artsy like david dobrik, so that he could post the pictures on his instagram later.

as ej climbed on top of ricky in the back of the limo, straddling his waist, he admired the boy below him. the top three buttons of his shirt had managed to become undone, exposing his collarbone while the floral tie had loosened around his neck, small lovebites reddening below his jaw and along his pale throat. a small lightbulb went off in the older boy’s brain as he stared at the luscious sight in front of him and he took out the small film camera from his pocket.

“what are you doing?” ricky asked breathlessly, lips still swollen red from when they were making out.

he brought the camera’s viewfinder to his eye, making sure to get the full view of ricky’s messy perfection. “i wanna remember how you look right now for the rest of my life.”

“ej, you know i hate when you take pictures of me!” the younger boy protested, reaching out a hand to cover the lens of the camera, but ej was quick, snapping a photo before he could obstruct the view.

“okay, now look happy in this one!” ej joked, bringing the camera back up to his face.

“no, i don’t like having my picture taken! i’m too awkward for this. can we just keep making out please!”

ej threatened as he adjusted the viewfinder, “if you don’t smile, you know what i’m going to have to do.”

ricky froze, eyes wide. “you wouldn’t.”

“baby, you know that i would,” and with that, ej began tickling ricky’s sides, wiggling his fingers and making the younger boy squirm and yell. ricky hated _absolutely everything_ about what was happening right now, but unfortunately he could not control his body when he was being tickled so he laughed like a _maniac_ as ej continued running his hands up and down his sides.

with one hand still tickling ricky’s stomach, ej brought the camera back to his face, and _clicked_ , capturing an unapologetic, laughing ricky with crinkled eyes and a wide smile on his face.

he finally relented, putting the camera back in his pocket and leaning down to place a kiss on ricky’s lips as the younger boy frowned, catching his breath from laughing.

“i fucking hate you,” ricky grumbled.

“i fucking love you,” ej grinned back, resuming their kissing.

~⚠️flashback ending alert⚠️~

*****

ej stared down at his phone, admiring his lockscreen: the picture he took of ricky laughing in the limo at prom, the younger boy so happy and full of life. he sighed, missing ricky a little extra as his school work began to pile up.

he was sitting on the couch of his common room, connor, isaac, and tommy next to him as they all took a break from their work to play video games.

“dude, are you fucking dumb?!? you just killed me and we’re on the same team!” tommy yelled.

“whoopsie daisy,” connor mused, not sorry at all as the other roommate grumbled.

as if ricky could sense that ej was thinking of him, a text notification appeared on his screen from the younger boy.

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _hi :)_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _missing you a little extra today_

ej smiled as he read the text, about to reply when another message appeared.

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️** **_:_ ** _sent an attachment._

his eyebrows furrowed, curious as to what ricky had sent him as he unlocked his phone to check. he took a sip of water from his hydroflask as he opened the messages, and proceeded to choke, dropping his phone onto the floor as he saw what ricky sent him.

his roommates looked at him with concern as he coughed, trying to regain his senses. isaac patted his back gently before asking, “uh, you okay, bro?”

“yeah, i’m fine,” he coughed out, “my water just, uh, went down the wrong pipe, i guess.”

“oh, well, let me get your phone for ya,” isaac offered, reaching down onto the floor before ej grabbed him by the wrist.

“nO! nope that’s okay, thank you!” he interrupted, grabbing his phone quickly and standing up abruptly from his place on the couch. “i’m just gonna, uh, go to my room and--um. i’m just gonna go to my room! tommy you can play as my character since you’re dead.”

ej power walked to his suite as he heard the other boy mumble out a ‘ _sweet’_ , closing the door quickly and making sure to _lock it_.

he opened the message ricky sent again, just to see if his eyes were working correctly and when the same picture showed up on his screen, his soul once again left his body.

ricky had sent him a picture of himself, but not just any picture of himself: ricky had sent ej a picture of him (well, the lower half of his body), in his bed, _naked_ and using the _sparkly purple vibrator_ ej had given him, his dick leaking over his stomach. _missing you a little extra today_ , the message before it had said.

ej gulped. just looking at the picture made his heart beat faster, his own dick twitching in his pants.

impulsively, he grabbed his airpods from his desk, popping them in his ear as he took a seat on his bed and pressed the facetime button on ricky’s contact.

the phone rang three times before the younger boy’s face appeared on his screen, a mischievous smile on his face as he laid in his bed.

“oh, hey ej what’s up!” ricky greeted breathlessly, feigning nonchalance.

“hi, _ricky_ ,” ej started, trying to control the incessant beating of his heart. “what are you up to right now?”

“oh, nothing,” ricky replied, his voice cracking as he sucked in a sharp breath.

“nothing, hmm? that was an interesting picture you sent me.”

the senior’s smirk turned dirty, “yeah?”

“yeah, i’m gonna have to add it to my private album of all the other pictures i have of you that get me off.”

a soft gasp left ricky’s mouth as he whispered, “well, how about i give you a live show so you don’t have to rely on those pictures anymore.”

the younger boy then placed his phone onto his bedside table, propping it up on his lamp and adjusting the angle so that ej could see almost his full body. from this new angle, ej was able to fully see as ricky laid on the bed with bent knees, exposing himself so that the view of him fucking himself with the purple vibrator was clear.

ej’s dick fully hardened at the sight as he slid a hand down and under the waistband of his sweatpants to rub his own erection.

“you look so good like that, baby,” he groaned low in his throat as he watched his boyfriend through the screen.

ricky moaned, eyes closed and head thrown back as he pushed the vibrator in and out of his hole, “ah, would be better if it was your--ah, your dick inside of me.”

“it’s okay, baby, just keep fucking yourself just like that. pretend it’s me, okay?”

slipping his fingers past his underwear, ej took hold of his dick, stroking himself in time with ricky’s ministrations. he groaned, tightening his grip as precum leaked from the slit.

“oh, fuck,” ricky whined, his chest beginning to flush as his hand moved faster, “miss you so much, miss the way you fuck me hard.”

“ _shit_ ,” ej uttered, his own hand quickly working his dick, breath getting heavier and heavier.

if you had asked him a year ago if he ever thought he would hear the pretentious and prude ricky bowen say those words to him while fucking himself on a glittered purple vibrator, he probably would’ve laughed in your face.

the younger boy continued his obscene dirty talk as he got closer and closer to his climax, “wish you were here to hold me down, _ah_ , love the way you’re rough with me, love the way you _use_ me-- oh _fuck_.”

ej’s hand quickened on his cock, swiping a thumb over his head as he watched ricky, eyes glued to the screen. they never had phone sex before, not really needing to since they were always in each other’s physical company and honestly, ej always wondered what was so enticing about it. 

but as he watched ricky finally reach the edge with a shout, come spilling over his stomach and onto his abs as he writhed and moaned on the bed: he finally understood what all the hype was about. he kind of wished he screen recorded all of this because it was better than any porn he’d ever watched in his _life_.

his own release came just a few seconds later, his balls squeezing tight as he spurted over his hand with a low groan.

he caught his breath, ricky teasing breathlessly as he slowly pulled the vibrator out of his hole, “you were right, ej. this is definitely better than my right hand. in fact, it might even be better than your dick.”

“oh, please,” ej scoffed as he cleaned himself up. “you know nothing’s better than my dick.”

“yeah, but does your dick vibrate up to 5 levels? didn’t think so,” the younger boy stated matter-of-factly as he grabbed his phone from his nightstand and was face to face with his boyfriend again.

“um, whatever,” ej said, rolling his eyes. “that was really hot, by the way. like, everything we just did. we should do it more often. i wasn’t kidding about having that private album full of your nudes, but i have to say i’m getting a little tired of jerking off to that one picture of you spread open over my kitchen countertop--”

“ _why_ must you bring that up,” ricky spluttered, a rosy blush spreading across his cheeks.

“you literally just masturbated for me on camera with a sparkly purple dildo, you have absolutely _no right_ to be embarrassed right now.”

the senior paused. “fair enough.”

he thought to himself before continuing softly, “on the reals though...i really do miss you. not just the sex, _obviously_ i miss the sex but, like...i miss being with you. i miss seeing you everyday. it’s not the same over facetime and it’s been so long already. ugh, _it feels like a part of me is missing_ ,” ricky confessed, covering his face with his arm.

ej felt his heart seize in his chest, “i know it’s hard. it’s hard for me, too. i love cali and i’m making friends and trying new things but i wish i could do all that _with_ you, i wish you were right here next to me to experience it all with me.”

“fuck this,” ricky lamented, throwing his hands in the air dramatically, “why does long distance have to suck so much!”

“hey, don’t worry. before you know it i’ll be back in salt lake for thanksgiving. we just gotta think about that and it’ll come faster. nothing can come between us, okay? you’re the litleo to my squirtle, don’t forget that.”

the younger boy pouted before remembering excitedly, “oh, speaking of. look what i stole from your house!”

ricky’s screen went black, the sounds of rustling ringing through ej’s airpods until the senior appeared on screen again with ej’s iconic squirtle plushie in hand.

“i missed you and it was still on your bed so i took it,” ej’s boyfriend declared fondly, bringing the stuffed animal to his nose and taking a deep whiff. “it smells like you and your fancy chanel cologne. it helps me sleep at night.”

ej’s grin grew on his face as he thought about how much he loved the other boy, “well, i’m glad a part of me can be there to watch over you at night.”

they smiled at each other until ej had a startling realization: “ _how the fuck did you get into my house?!?_ ”

*****

ej was weak.

he couldn’t stop thinking about ricky since that night they had facetimed, when they confessed how much they missed each other and--

yeah. maybe from that conversation forward, ej started missing his boyfriend _even more_.

he was weak.

his roommates were tired of him complaining about missing ricky (“ _if you say that name one more time i’m going to drown you at our next practice!”_ tommy had yelled), his theatre friends were tired of him complaining ( _“not that this ‘boyfriend’ of yours is even real but you don’t have to keep up this charade to make me jealous. it’s never going to happen between you and me so you don’t have to keep constantly talking about him,”_ katya had joked but he knew the sentiment was still true), and _he_ was tired of getting distracted by all thoughts of ricky (he almost woke up late for water polo practice because he had a dream that ricky was in his bed cuddling him).

ej was weak. and tired of complaining. so.

he did something about it.

**_squirtle_** **🐢😘:** _labor day is next weekend yes_

**_squirtle_** **🐢😘:** _u have a three day weekend for labor day correct_

**_litleo_** **🥺❣️:** _yuh_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _why bb_

**_squirtle_** **🐢😘** **:** _sent an attachment._

**_squirtle_** **🐢😘** **:** _see u in cali then bitch_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _WHAT_

**_litleo_** **🥺❣️:** _NO WAY_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** **👁-**

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _U DID NOT BUY ME A PLANE TICKET TO CALI!!!_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _but wait i have to like_

**_litleo_** **🥺❣️:** _ask my dad?1!?_

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _yeah actually u like_

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _dont have to do that lol_

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _bc i already texted him_ 🧚🏻♂️✨

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _and he said you can come_

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _ugh stan mike bowen_ 😩

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _FUCK_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _!!!_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _OH MY GOD IM SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU SLDKFJLSJFKS_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _I LOVE YOU!! THANK YOU FOR BUYING ME A TICKET_ **🥺**

**_squirtle_ ** **🐢😘** **:** _I LOVE YOU TOO AND AM ALSO EXCITED TO SEE YOU AHHHH_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _SKDJFLSJDKF_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _wait_

**_litleo_ ** **🥺❣️:** _why do u have my dads number_

_read 9:52 pm._

*****

ej couldn't wait for the week to be over, getting up everyday buzzing with excitement at the prospect of ricky’s visit being one day closer than the last.

“i can’t believe i thought you were annoying when you were _sad_ about your boyfriend. it’s even worse when you’re _happy_ about him,” katya groaned as the four of them ate at a picnic table outside.

ej ignored her as he continued to text ricky, “so you’re saying that i _do_ have a boyfriend, then and that i’m _not_ in love with you?”

“just because you have a boyfriend doesn’t mean you’re not in love with me!” the girl chided, throwing a piece of vegan string cheese at his face.

“i’m quite excited to meet this mysterious boyfriend of yours, ej,” jonah piped up, adjusting the wireframe glasses on his nose. “well--i guess he’s not actually that mysterious since you talk about him so often that i know his full astrological natal chart by heart.”

stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth as he stared at his indie friend in confusion, “i don’t even know what that means, to be honest.”

the other boy sighed, sticking his face back into his book before gigi broke her silence at the table, “i can’t wait to meet ricky either! the way you talk about him he seems almost too good to be true, he’s such a perfect boyfriend. we all have to show him around and take him to a party and--ooh! swipe him into the dining hall and maybe if he likes it here enough he’ll want to go to college here too! and then you guys will be able to be with each other all the time!”

“ _god_ , what i would give to be as optimistic as you, gigi,” katya lamented as she sipped her kombucha seriously.

ej laughed, “i think you guys’ll really like him, he’s excited to meet you, too!” the conversation died down from there as the group soon had to go their separate ways. 

the more he talked about ricky’s visit, the more excited he got and when friday finally rolled around, ej, quite literally, was bouncing in anticipation.

ricky would be arriving at lax on saturday morning and from there the older boy had made an itinerary of all the fun things they would do together until ricky had to be back in utah on monday night.

he completely blanked out during all of his classes, too busy thinking about his boyfriend and by the time it got dark out, ej could barely even sleep.

when the saturday morning sun finally shined onto his eyes, the boy jumped out of bed excitedly and headed to lax via uber to pick ricky up from the airport. ej waited anxiously outside of the terminal, keeping an eye out for his boyfriend as his arrival time came closer and closer.

he anxiously read the sign on the wall for the 27th time when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

“ej!” ricky yelled excitedly from across the terminal carrying a large duffel bag and his backpack.

the pair ran towards each other, their arms held open wide as they met in the middle, wrapping their arms around each other.

they held each other, smiling goofily as ej swooped in for a kiss. “holy shit, i can’t believe you’re here!”

“honestly, me neither. i’ve lowkey got lots of homework i need to do,” ricky confessed bashfully.

ej tightened his arms around his younger boyfriend as he replied, “well, that’s all going to have to wait because i have many things planned for us to do during these next three days, and by golly, we are going to do them!”

they began walking side by side towards the exit of the airport, one of his hands holding the other boy’s and the other hand helping to carry his bags.

“‘by golly’? what has california turned you into?” ricky joked as they walked out of the fancy glass doors.

they quickly called an uber that brought them back to campus so that they could drop off ricky’s stuff in ej’s dorm. ej unlocked the door to his suite, opening it to reveal all of his roommates screaming at the tv in front of them as they lost in their video game.

“hello i am home and i have a guest so shut the fuck up!” ej screamed. ricky looked at him with wide eyes but ej just shrugged, they yelled at each other like that all the time.

the three other boys whipped their heads to look at where the couple stood in the doorway, eager to meet ricky as ej had been talking about him visiting nonstop for the past week.

connor was the first to rise from his place on the couch to greet ricky, holding his hand out so they could dap each other up, “sup, dude, i’m connor and i’m gonna assume you’re the boyfriend ej never shuts up about.”

the younger boy blushed, a smirk playing on his lips as he elbowed ej, “aww, you talk about me?”

“yeah, it’s fucking annoying,” tommy pops up from behind connor to shake ricky’s hand, “but you don’t seem too bad! i’m tommy, by the way.”

ricky gave the boy a nod as isaac reached out to greet ricky as well, “nice to finally meet the notorious ricky! i’m isaac.”

“yeah, it’s nice to meet all of you guys, too!” ricky exclaimed.

“and now that the formalities are over!” ej declared, pushing ricky towards his bedroom, “let’s put your stuff in my room.”

they went inside the room a ej closed the door quietly, ricky setting his bags down. the pair stood across from each other in the room, staring into each other’s eyes before ricky couldn’t take it anymore. he pushed ej back against the door roughly, placing his hands on the older boy’s chest and bringing their lips into a crushing kiss.

ej reciprocated immediately, grabbing hold of the younger boy’s hips and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. their mouths moved against each other desperately as ricky brought his hands to ej’s hair, running his fingers through the soft brown hair that had grown out just slightly longer since he’d last seen the boy.

they separated for a second to catch their breaths and before ej could dive back in to catch ricky’s tongue in his mouth once more, the younger boy fell to his knees quickly, making work of his boyfriend’s jeans.

the older boy sunk his finger’s into ricky’s soft caramel curls, pulling slightly in anticipation of what was to come. the senior pulled ej’s pants down quickly, foregoing the teasing and peeling off his underwear down as well and immediately going in to lick a stripe up the other boy’s dick. _god_ , he’d missed this.

ricky had no hesitation when he skipped ej’s cock into his mouth, sucking on the head before sinking down all the way so that his nose brushed ej’s stomach. he swallowed around the cock, earning a moan from the boy above him as the hands in his hair tightened their grip.

both desperate and missing each other, ricky bobbed his head quickly, hollowing his cheeks as ej’s hips pumped in and out of his mouth. ej groaned low in his throat; it had been so long since he’d had the wet heat of ricky’s mouth around his cock that he was on the verge of coming already. it didn’t help when he caught ricky slipping a hand into his own pants to pump his own dick, knowing that the younger boy was getting off just by sucking his cock.

with one last swirl of ricky’s tongue around ej’s head and kitten licks on his slit, ej lost control, spilling into his boyfriend’s mouth as he swallowed around him. his chest rose and fell in rapid breaths as he tried his best to lower the volume of his moans, scared that his roommates would hear him.

ricky lapped up the last of ej’s cum, wiping the drool that was dripping down his chin with the back of his hand as he stood back up to face his boyfriend with a goofy smile. he wrapped his arms around ej, resting his head on the older boy’s chest.

ej was about to reach into ricky’s pants to jerk him off when ricky stopped him, looking up at him with a blissed out face, “i came already.”

“jesus, how long have you been fantasizing about this?” ej joked, placing small kisses on his boyfriend’s cheek.

ricky groaned, “since we pulled out of the parking lot after moving you in, to be honest.”

he pulled ricky in for a loving kiss as he reassured, “well, no more fantasizing. i’m gonna make sure we have the best weekend ever.”


	2. shower you with all my attention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoever catches the most references to previous stories in this series gets a cookie 🍪
> 
> with that being said, i'm sorry this took so long but i hope you enjoy this last part! it has been a pleasure writing this story and im seriously so thankful to anyone who's ever read anything i've written. it means the world <3
> 
> also here's a funny tiktok that reminds me of my ej LMFAO   
> https://vm.tiktok.com/JL53nxY/

ej had _many_ plans for his ricky’s visit; so many that he wasn’t sure that they would even be able to get to them all.

with the sun still out, ej took the opportunity to take ricky to his favorite beach near campus and ricky was more than enthusiastic about diving into the dark blue waves of the california coast. there obviously wasn’t much opportunity to go the beach in utah, so the younger boy had all but ran across the sand to get into the water, barely looking back as ej set up a blanket for them.

he laughed as ricky pulled him by the hand, forcing him into the water as well. they splashed the salt water in each other’s faces and pushed each other’s heads under the waves in good fun. at one point, ricky jumped on ej’s back, forcing the older boy to give him a piggyback ride only for both of them to be knocked down as they were engulfed in a crushing wave.

only after the fourth time they almost drowned did they decide to take a break and lay themselves out of the blanket, bathing in the warm golden sun that adorned them. ej didn’t realize he needed to see ricky leaning above him, the sun gleaming around his silhouette and curly brown hair soaked as droplets of salt water rolled down his chest until it actually happened.

he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

“what?” ricky questioned, eyes narrowed as the sun shone in them, emphasizing the gold specks mixed in with the brown.

“i just like looking at you,” ej replied peacefully, never taking his eyes off the younger boy.

they took a picture with the self timer on their phones, carefree and laughing as the sun hit them in all the right places and ej immediately posted it to his instagram, not even bothering with a filter as he captioned it, ‘ _back with my sunshine in the sunshine state!”_

after the beach, they headed back to campus to meet up with gigi, jonah, and katya, the friends all excited to meet ej’s famous boyfriend. they had all decided to meet up at the group’s favorite restaurant called lemonade which was on campus and where the group of theatre majors liked to eat and study on the weekends. ricky being the laid back and easy going guy he was instantly clicked with the group, especially since they all had theatre in common.

ricky also liked to get on ej’s nerves so he actively flirted with gigi, who wasn’t able to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks and the high pitched giggles that left her mouth whenever the younger boy addressed her.

jonah seemed to connect with ricky as well as they both had a love of skateboarding, the boys beginning to speak in a foreign language of ollies and varial kickflips as ej and the girls pretended to understand anything they were saying.

the worst of it all, however, was ricky’s immediate connection with katya. as soon as the girl made one joke at ej’s expense, it was as if ricky had lit up with the light of a thousand suns, smiling mischievously as he clapped back with another insult to ej’s name and from there the teasing against ej didn’t stop for the rest of the time the group sat in the restaurant.

katya cackled maniacally as ricky brought up the time he hit ej in the face with a basketball, cucumber-mint lemonade going up her nose as she laughed, “jesus, ej, if i knew ricky hated you as much as i do i would’ve told you to bring him here sooner.”

ej rolled his eyes, elbowing ricky in the side as the younger boy laughed at him behind his mango chicken bowl but he couldn’t help but smile as he looked down at his boyfriend.

his plan for the rest of the day was to hang out with the group until night came and then bring them all to a party at his frat house. lambda chi was throwing a labor day banger and everyone was dying to get their party fix.

jonah offered to host the pre-game at his dorm room as it was slightly more spacious since he only shared it with one other roommate, who was thankfully away for the weekend and wouldn’t mind them blasting music and chugging white claws. (“ _white claws?!”_ katya had complained, to which ricky laughed. _“what kinda straight white sorority girl do you think i am?”_ but she proceeded to drink three cans in the time they had spent vibing to megan thee stallion).

when it came time for them to walk to the house where the party was being held, gigi was already stumbling over the sidewalk, arm thrown over jonah’s shoulders for support while ricky wrapped his arms around ej’s middle, his cheeks already flushed with how much he had drank. ej, for the most part, had figured this would happen, opting to drink only one can of beer so that he could take care of his friends and not be drunk.

“i think you might be an alcoholic,” ej chuckled, holding ricky up as he tripped over his own foot.

“and what about it, babe?” the younger boy sassed, taking another sip from the can he was holding just to spite his boyfriend.

when they arrived, the party seemed to be in full swing: girls and guys lined up outside the white frat house while music blared at an obnoxious volume, ej’s brothers standing outside and regulating who got into the party. ej snickered at the amount of desperate guys that thought they had a chance at getting into the party, money in their hands and large groups of girls beside them to vouch for them.

he gathered his friends, keeping an arm around ricky while grabbing katya as she tried to walk past them. jonah continued to hold gigi as she began singing ‘life is a highway’ by the rascal flatts into his ear. ej lead them past the never ending line, earning them a few angry stares as they skipped in front of everyone.

reaching his frat brothers that were guarding the door he nodded at them, hoping they were still sober enough to recognize that he was in the same frat as them. “sup,” he said casually.

“caswell, right? with guests, i see,” one of them said, eyeing ej’s already drunk friends.

“that would be me.”

“yeah, come on in. don’t have too much fun, though!”

and with that, the group walked into the madhouse. the music around them blared as colorful lights lit up the ceiling and bodies crowded every space in the house, dancing to the beat of the song playing. ej lead them to the kitchen where several large beverage coolers sat atop the counter, red solo cups stacked in a neat pile next to them. ricky finally detached from him to fill up a cup quickly, taking a sip and lighting up.

“oh my god, this is so good,” the boy said seriously, pushing the cup in ej’s direction so he could try.

“is it actually good or do you just like _all_ types of alcohol?”

“probably a mix of both.”

after everyone got their drinks, the group went out to the designated dance area, mixing in with the many people moving their bodies to the music. ej pulled ricky against him, relishing in the warmth that was radiating from the younger boy, his back pressed to ej’s chest and ass moving against his front as they grinded.

the rest of the party went on rather uneventfully; ricky and katya almost passed out from how hard they were dancing to the savage remix by megan thee stallion and beyonce. somehow ej saw his roommates at the party, not entirely sure how they even got in considering they were freshman boys but he decided not to question it too hard. jonah and gigi held hands and disappeared into the crowd to grab more drinks and he had spotted them making out in the dark corridor of the hallway but he decided not to mention it for their sake.

when everyone deemed themselves too tired and drunk to continue partying, the group left, stumbling through the southern california campus like idiots. ricky walked into a palm tree about 3 times, ej having to steer him away quickly every time he began walking towards another one. ( _“they’re just so tall and beautiful!”_ ricky had slurred, tears streaming down his face dramatically.)

ej, being the most sober out of all them, dropped everyone off at their respective dorm rooms. jonah went first, eyes hooded and smile smug as he finally let go of gigi’s hand and went inside of his room. gigi was taken to her room next, giggling as ej wiped her face with a makeup wipe, as she had instantly tucked herself into bed as soon as she opened the door, not bothering to change or wash her face. katya was last, pointedly ignoring ej and opting to engulf ricky in a giant hug, both of them squealing about how much they loved each other while ej just rolled his eyes.

finally after a long night of partying, ej and ricky arrived at ej’s dorm. ej was _trying_ to unlock the door, but it was getting a little hard since ricky decided to distract him by wrapping his arms around ej from behind and peppering kisses to the back of his neck.

ej finally got the key in the lock, about to turn it when ricky _bit_ into the knob of his spine and he stupidly knocked his keys to the ground, cursing quietly.

“having some trouble there?” the younger boy slurred, fingertips sneakily gracing ej’s stomach and abdomen.

“yes, and you’re not really helping…” ej said through his teeth, but the malice lost its effect when his voice came out shaky, every touch from ricky setting his skin on fire. it had been so long since ej had ricky’s hands on him like this; he was sensitive to the gentle touch stroking his sides and the lips he felt mouthing the side of his neck, making his pulse skyrocket.

the door finally opened with a click and ricky wasted no time when they got inside, grabbing ej’s face between his hands and slotting their mouths together like they belonged there. ej held the younger boy’s waist in a tight grip, wanting to be as close to him as possible. their lips moved against each other roughly, the tension that was created by the miles separating them finally breaking as they kissed each other like starving men in a desert.

reluctantly, ej pulled back, breathlessly whispering, “bedroom,” before continuing his attack on his boyfriend’s lips and walking him backwards into the dimly lit room, the only light being the illumination of the moon through the blinds of his window.

ricky closed the door behind him as ej pushed him against it, their tongues continuing to slide against each other, breathing through noses, not daring to be the first one to pull away. ej pressed a thigh in between ricky’s crotch and something seized in his heart.

it felt like the first time: ej’s 18th birthday, acting drunker than they really were, pretending they didn’t want it when they did. ej pushing a knee between ricky’s legs, black boxers scattered with colorful pokemon, mirrors that showed caswell shaped bruises on his collarbones.

that night felt like a lifetime ago, albeit only being a few months. to think how much they had changed in that time, how much they had grown.

if someone asked ricky how he would feel about ej caswell six months from that night, he definitely wouldn’t have told them he would be in love with him.

ricky moved his hands to lift ej’s t-shirt when his boyfriend stopped him, tangling their fingers together as he looked at ricky seriously.

“are you sure you want to do anything tonight? you’re pretty drunk,” ej asked quietly.

ricky smiled fondly, bringing his hands to ej’s cheeks lovingly as he confessed, “i’m not actually that drunk, i just like when you take care of me.”

ej snorted, shaking his head as a smirk grew on his lips. “well, in that case,” ej declared, wrapping his arms around ricky’s middle and throwing the younger boy over his shoulder as he squealed, unceremoniously depositing him onto the bed. “let me take care of you.”

*****

the sun seeped into ej’s eyes, rays of gold creeping through the cracks of the window as a new sunday arose, awakening everything in its path.

ej’s eyes blinked open blearily, putting a hand in front of his face to shield it from the sun. his legs were still tangled with ricky’s from last night’s escapade, the younger boy snoring lightly on his chest. his heart rate rose thinking about how unbelievably _good_ it was last night; he almost forgot how good it was to be inside of ricky, how much he missed being this close to the younger boy.

unfortunately, much of their day would have to be spent apart as ej had a mandatory team bonding event that would take up most of his sunday. he had tried to convince his coach to let him out of it, but the man was adamant about every member of the team being present. but ricky didn’t really mind when he told him and katya offered to take the younger boy on a tour around campus and to all her favorite spots around the area. ricky was more than excited to explore southern california and the prospect of doing so with someone he could talk endless shit about ej to had been even more appealing. 

so now ej was here, sitting on the edge of the pool with his face in his hands and his feet dipped into the water, recovering from _another_ drill that his coach had put them through. he lost track of all of the workouts and bonding exercises they had done so far, exhaustion already creeping through his body and it was only three in the afternoon.

he was going to drown himself.

his roommates, connor, issac and tommy all plopped down next to him, groaning in pain as chlorinated water dripped from their hair and every muscle in their bodies screamed for them to take a break.

“i can’t do this anymore,” connor whined, laying down onto the cold tile and throwing an arm over his eyes.

the other boys groaned in agreement, too tired to even form words. so far, their coach had made them do 4 different conditioning routines and then made them all get in the pool for a game of “water quidditch” as a form of team building, which is exactly what you think it is but ten times worse in a 12 foot deep olympic swimming pool and twenty times less fun when you were the “seeker” who had to swim all the way to the bottom to find the “snitch” aka. a _fucking_ marble.

in an olympic sized swimming pool.

ej was the seeker.

he never found the marble.

the workouts, drills, and exercises finally ended but sadly (for ej, at least) their captain wanted to end the day with a team bonfire on the beach, where they could finally relax and have a drink to celebrate all their hard work and the long weekend. once again, ej tried to get out of it but the senior in charge announced that if anyone didn’t show up, they would have to swim laps at the next practice. so. ej had no other choice.

he was currently sitting in a beach chair, the bright sun finally away as the day ended and the moon rising as night came. he held a beer in one hand and his face in the other, bored already in the hour that he’d been there. tommy sat on his left, sipping on his fifth bottle of corona while isaac and connor sat on his right, engaged in an animated conversation about which brand of beer was the best. ej’s mind was in it’s own world as reggae music played in the distance from someone’s speaker and his face was heated by the fire blazing from the pit in front of him.

he took a long sip from his bottle when tommy spoke up beside him.

“must suck that you didn’t get to spend time with your little boy toy today and were stuck with us, huh?” the affluent boy joked, his laugh making ej’s eye twitch.

_um, ricky is not my fucking boy toy_ , he thought to himself, staring straight ahead with narrowed eyes. “yeah, it always sucks when i’m stuck anywhere with you, tommy.”

connor and isaac had stopped mid-conversation, turning towards the other two boys as they noticed the sudden tension.

“well, it sucked to be the one stuck in our dorm having to listen to you two fucking last night…”

“do you ever shut up?”

“you’re one to talk, mr. _oh fuck, ricky, fuck_ ,” tommy mocked, whining like an exaggerated porn star.

ej’s jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white with how tight he was gripping his beer. “tell me: is it exhausting being as much of an asshole as you are?”

“tell _me_ ,” the boy scoffed, taking a sip from his bottle cockily. “which one is the top and which one is the bottom?”

an ej couldn’t control himself, his body rising on its own accord, ready for a fight as he stared down at the boy next to him with fire in his eyes. tommy rose to face him, an arrogant smirk on his face as he crossed his arms.

“none of your fucking business,” ej seethed.

“c’mon, caswell, it’s just jokes! i mean you guys sounded like you were having a _great_ time.”

“we’ll be sure to invite you next time,” he deadpanned back sarcastically.

“kind offer, but i must ask: you think ricky will let me hit it? i did notice he had a pretty fine ass when you introduced us--”

ej’s fist moved toward the other boy’s face but before it could meet the abomination, isaac and connor held him back, grabbing on to each of his shoulders.

“chill, tommy,” isaac insisted, as ej shook his roommate’s hands off of him.

connor patted him on the back in comfort as he agreed, “yeah, you’re not fucking funny.”

ej’s nostrils flared in anger as he tried to calm down from tommy’s comments. _no one is going to fucking talk about ricky like that,_ he thought to himself bitterly as he regained his composure.

ej plastered on his famous snarl and narrowed his eyes, a look that would have people running if directed toward them at east high. he held his nose in the air and crossed his arms over his chest as he took a step toward tommy, who’s smirk had visibly faltered at ej’s sudden change in demeanor.

“can i ask you something, tommy?” he asked, his voice feeding kindness.

the other boy gulped as connor and isaac looked between the two of them, anticipating what ej was going to say.

“i guess…”

“what’s my last name?”

tommy hesitated, eyes knitted together in confusion. “huh?”

“i said,” ej drawled, taking a step closer to the other boy. “what. is. my. last. name.”

“um...caswell?”

“yes. and i get that name from who?”

“...your parents?”

ej inched closer. “correct. do you know who my parents are?”

tommy crossed his arms over his chest once again, almost as if he was trying to protect himself. “robert and kym caswell? the ceo and vice president of caswell industries?”

“ _indeed_ , they are. and friends with powerful people such as mark cuban, jeff bezos, and leonardo dicaprio, i may add. they have michelle obama on speed dial.”

“so?”

ej laughed cruelly, taking one step closer and getting into tommy’s face. “ _so_ , what makes you think i won’t call up my parents and tell them how annoying you are? do you know how much power _i_ have, simply because of all the power _they_ have?”

tommy leaned back, eyes wide as ej continued his tirade. “i could get you expelled from this school with one phone call. i can make sure you never get a job. i can ruin your _whole fucking life._ do you understand that?”

the frightened boy nodded frantically.

“good. so don’t ever talk about my fucking boyfriend like that again or i’ll do just that.”

and with that, ej lowered his ray-ban sunglasses onto his face and walked away with his nose in the air, ready to call an uber to get back home when isaac and connor caught up to him, putting their arms over his shoulders in excitement.

“that was fucking awesome!” isaac praised.

“thank _god_ you put that asshat in his place. god knows i wouldn’t have had the balls to!” connor confessed, the three of them getting into the back of the uber and heading back to campus as they laughed.

*****

back at the dorm, ej and ricky were cuddled up in his small bed, the older boy laying on top of ricky as his body was racked with exhaustion from the day. his head rested on ricky’s chest, as the younger boy played with his hair and recounted their day.

“and then we had to play _quidditch_ . in a _pool_ ,” ej lamented.

ricky just patted him on the head gently before comforting, “there, there.”

“i can’t believe you were able to go to santa monica pier, lacma, _and_ hollywood boulevard all in one day. and _without_ me. ugh, i hate it here.”

“yeah, katya is awesome,” ricky praised. “but it would’ve been ten times better with you. it’s okay, though. at least you got to bond with your teammates, right?”

ej groaned, sitting up to rest on his elbows and look at ricky. “yeah, if bonding with your teammates means _tommy_ being an asshole, then sure.”

“what’d he do this time?”

“i don’t even wanna say it,” he said, covering his face with his hands. “it was so disgusting and it was about _you_. god, i hate him sometimes.”

ricky frowned, grabbing ej’s hands and taking them away from his face so they could look each other in the eye. “the fuck did he say about me?”

ej cringed, not wanting to repeat the horrible things that tommy had said but ricky tilted his head, waiting for a response and he was forced to speak. “he was just being gross and making comments about how he heard us having sex and then was trying to be funny by saying shit like, _ooh, who’s the top and who’s the bottom_ _ah ha ha_ , and _oh ricky has a fat ass, think he’d let me hit it?_ ”

ricky’s eyes widened in horror and he gagged dramatically, “i honestly don’t remember what he looks like but i bet he’s ugly so _no_ i will not be letting him _hit it_ , the only person i let _hit it_ is you and ew!!! oh my god, ew, that’s so gross EW i can’t believe he would say that.”

ej laughed at ricky’s dramatics until ricky spoke up again, interrupting him.

“wait.”

“what?”

ricky smiled shyly, pushing non-existent hair behind his ear, “do i have a fat ass?”

“oh my god.”

grabbing a pillow, ej hit ricky and the boy’s proceeded to engage in a pillow fight that lasted twenty minutes too long and left them breathless from laughing.

*****

ej was determined to spend the short amount of time he had left with ricky... _with_ ricky.

the younger boy had to catch his flight back to utah at 8 pm which meant that they had all of the morning and afternoon to do whatever they wanted together until it was time to drop ricky off at the airport. 

for breakfast, ej decided to take ricky to one of favorite restaurants near campus called _eggslut_ which...specialized in eggs, of course.

“they have the best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches i’ve ever tasted in my life. no joke,” he stated, seriously.

ricky was skeptical until he took a bite out of his own sandwich, his eyes widening in shock as he mumbled out a, “ _holy fuck, that’s good_.” and proceeded to scarf the whole thing down in 30 seconds flat. (he also forced ej to order another one. which he also ate as soon as the waiter put it down on their table.)

next, ricky and him took an uber to the griffith observatory uptown, a place he had always wanted to visit to live out his _la la land_ musical fantasies.

he couldn’t contain his excitement when they reached the planetarium, pulling ricky into him to spin around and dance, which earned them a few weird looks but it didn’t really matter because ej was able to recreate his favorite scene from the movie.

he also made a conscious effort to snap many pictures of the two of them and of ricky alone, both on his phone and his film camera, constantly making the younger boy groan with how many times ej had asked him to pose.

after ej posted that they were in the griffith observatory on his instagram story for the fifteenth time in the span of two hours, ricky declared he was hungry again (despite eating _two_ sandwiches for breakfast) and grabbed ej by the hand to force the older boy to feed him.

they decided to go to historic koreatown, where ej insisted they eat at his favorite korean bbq that katya had taken him to.

“what even is korean bbq? is there a difference between that and regular bbq?” ricky wondered aloud as ej guided him by the hand through the packed district of los angeles.

finding the sign for _park’s bbq_ , ej lead him inside, grinning ear to ear in anticipation of eating. 

“well, yes. at kbbq places there’s a grill built into the table and you cook the meat yourself. and you can like pick whatever meat you want and customize the sauce you wanna marinate it with! and here at park’s it’s all you can eat, which means _you_ will have the time of your life.”

ricky’s eyes knitted together in confusion, “but who would want to cook the food they’re paying for themselves?”

“that’s what i thought the first time katya took here but then i discovered the wonders of korean grilling methods. trust me, this shit just hits different.”

and that is how ej put ricky onto korean bbq, who then proceeded to rave about it for the next few hours and ultimately declared that he was going to find a kbbq place in salt lake and take the rest of the theatre gang.

as the time to drop ricky off at the airport neared, ej wasn’t exactly sure what other activities the couple could do when ricky made a suggestion that he couldn’t refuse.

“honestly. i don’t care what we do, i just wanna be with you. can we just go back to your place and cuddle until i have to leave?”

“that is one of the best ideas i’ve ever heard in my life.”

and so there they were, back in ej’s twin size bed, wrapped up in each other’s arms and legs and looking at each other with a mutual longing.

they were inches apart but it felt like there were already miles in between them.

ricky sighed, burrowing his face into ej’s neck to smell the comforting scent of oranges and sandalwood. “i really, really don’t wanna leave.”

ej ran his fingers through the sunkissed curls on the younger boy’s head, “i really, really, don’t want you to leave.”

“wish i could stay here in your arms forever. in california with the sun beating down on us. i’ve never felt so free in my life.”

tightening his arms around ricky, ej replied wistfully, “you. me. california. forever. that’s the dream.”

“y’know, i never thought i would stay in the west coast for college but maybe i’ll apply to schools in cali. everyday feels like a movie here.”

“i don’t care where you go, it’ll always feel like a movie with you.”

ricky grimaced, sticking his tongue out playfully, “yuck, you’re turning soft on me.”

“how can i help it! the reality that i’m not going to see you until thanksgiving is crashing down on me!”

“you’ll be fine, you drama queen. as long as you keep tommy in check, at least.”

ej rolled his eyes, groaning, “ugh, why’d you have to ruin this perfectly romantic moment by bringing up the off-brand jacob elordi.”

“don’t disrespect jacob elordi like that.”

the pair laughed until an alarm started ringing on ricky’s phone, signalling that it was time to head to the airport.

“well, fuck,” ricky fretted. “that went by quick.”

ej reluctantly sat up in the bed, forcing ricky to get up as well as got all of ricky’s bags and belongings together. “you packed everything, right?”

“unfortunately…”

“hey, you were the one just saying that we’d be fine! who’s being the drama queen now? c’mon, let’s call the uber so you don’t miss your flight.”

“what if i told you i have a deathly fear of flying on planes,” ricky said seriously, coming up with any excuse to go back to utah.

“then i would laugh at you and put you on a plane. oh wait-- i’m doing that right now!”

“i should break up with you for that comment!” ricky grumbled, throwing his backpack over his shoulder begrudgingly.

ej rolled his eyes in good nature, opening the door of his room as he helped ricky with his bags. “you know i love you, baby, but the uber’s outside.”

the pair got to the airport with time to spare for all of the security checks and they stood in the terminal awkwardly, not wanting to be the first to say goodbye.

“this is so stupid,” ej declared, pulling ricky into his arms for a tight bear hug.

ricky buried his face in ej’s chest as they hugged, never wanting to let go. but unfortunately his phone went off again, an alarm set as a reminder that time was running out for them.

they finally separated, but ej held ricky’s face in his hands as he reminded, “don’t forget to text me when you’re on the plane, and text me when you land, and text me when you get home--”

“okay. i’ll text you,” ricky chuckled, placing a hand gently on top of ej’s.

he leaned in, catching the older boy’s lips in a passionate kiss before reluctantly pulling away.

“i love you,” ej whispered.

“i love you too. so much,” ricky reciprocated, smiling against ej’s lips before finally pulling away and making sure he had all of his bags and ticket.

he walked backwards into the check in line, blowing ej kisses as he shouted, not caring about all the people around them, “i miss you already!”

ej shook his head, smiling to himself as he watched his boyfriend disappear into the crowd.

*****

ej unlocked the door to his bedroom and walked in dejectedly, sighing as he took in the now empty room.

he shrugged off his jacket and placed it on the corner of his chair when he noticed a small box and piece of paper sitting on his desk.

curious, ej picked up the box and paper and his heart seized as he realized who it was from.

his eyes crinkled with how much he was smiling as he read the note:

_hey bitch <3_

_its ya boi ricky. just wanted to say thank u for an amazing weekend. i know we both wish it was longer but this was one of the best weekends of my life. i like. love you or whatever ewwww._

_but anyway. i figured since u always give me gifts and since the greatest gift of all (me) is no longer with u, i decided to get u something special._

_hope u enjoy it <3 (not too much tho)_

_love, ricky_

ej opened the box and his smile dropped.

the package was filled with sparkling gold tissue paper and glittering confetti but that wasn’t what caught ej off guard.

sitting in the middle of the adorable packaging was a pink bejeweled, heart shaped, silver butt plug.

  
_that fucking dickhead_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...i lied. i have like a few more ideas for this series LMAO so it's definitely far from over.
> 
> but they're definitely not going to be posted soon im ngl
> 
> with that being said tho...read my sky high fic here to hold you off until i do post those other stories!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24994417/chapters/60517321
> 
> also if youve never had kbbq. pls do ur self a favor and try some.
> 
> mwah love you all thank you for staying on this journey with me <3  
> xoxo,  
> flow3rs

**Author's Note:**

> ay cliffhanger check ⚠️😳🙈
> 
> playlists inspired by this fic:  
> spotify:playlist:35WO4rQOmB6YXQLCPna0ya  
> spotify:playlist:0tm9We9VW8OG3OiE7flahs
> 
> pls be patient for the next part 😔 i do lowkey be having a creative block doe 😳
> 
> and while you're here, sign this petition ✨🤩🧚🏻♂️ http://chng.it/5ZmsZhFhTv


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